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Wednesday, March 25, 2020
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| Dear #RPSStrong Family,
Before we dive in today, one request: please let everyone in your networks know about my RPS Direct messages so that they can sign up if they're not getting them. Here's the link to do so. Thank you!
Shout-outs! Please keep sending them to me at jkamras@rvaschools.net. They make my day, and I hope they make yours, too!
- Shout out to Coach G (Mr. Galloway) at Westover Hills Elementary! Each day he posts a fun video about fitness or nutrition on Class Dojo, and he really got through to kids in the last week of school with active lessons on germs and how they can be transmitted.
- Today was Cary's first day to be used as a "drop off" site. Hats off to the following Cary staff and supporters for all their help: Blanche Little, Heather Lackey, Samantha Jones, Tamika Vincent, Mary Henderson, Aletha Fernandez, Angela Wright, and Principal Powell!
- I would like to say a big shout-out to Mr. Simone Vincent, teacher at Richmond Community High School. He is going the extra mile with his students. He is always sharing good information/resources with them and parents.
- Another huge shout out to Ms. Williams at Munford for keeping in contact with the kids and setting up a zoom.
- We would like to shout out Ms. DePriest (CIS) and Principal Dabney from MLK Middle School for promoting the well-being of their students by reaching out to their community partners for assistance. They consistently communicate and coordinate with us to provide for the needs of the families that they serve.
- I'd like to shout out all of the staff who are participating in webinars consistently to sharpen their skill set. RPS was given state-wide kudos for the amount of staff who are participating in all webinars being offered. Great job, everyone!
- We love Principal Massenburg! She has been doing an excellent job reaching out to her students.
- Our student receives services (Special Education) due to Autism. The resource teachers (Mrs. Fisher and Mrs. Howard) at Redd Elementary school have been wonderful. They have assisted beyond anything I could have imagined. Shout out to them!!
- I want to give a shout-out to Ms. Evans at Southampton Elementary School, 5th grade. She is doing a Zoom lesson everyday with her students at 10am. She is also in constant contact with parents and is super helpful.
- Shout-out to Southampton Elementary School teachers who are doing a parade tomorrow 3/26 for all students! Amazing!
- Shout-out to Ms. Rickey, Principal of Binford, for 3-4 phone messages a week to keep us updated on what is going on, etc. She is amazing!
- I just wanted to let you know that RPS staff are doing an absolutely amazing job handling this situation. No one could have foreseen it or have had any plans in place. I can’t even begin to imagine the work and stress being placed on people who are already underpaid. Thank you so much for all of you who are sacrificing so much to take care of others.
- I’d like to give a hearty RPS shout-out to Joi Thomas, teacher at T. C. Boushall Middle School! She has been helping to distribute food every day since the shut down and has even learned a couple of key phrases in Spanish so that she could communicate with families when we didn’t have a Spanish- speaking volunteer available!
- I am a parent of a seven grader, that attend Albert Hill middle school. His history teacher, Mr. Walters, [deserves] recognition for showing that he genuinely cares for his students during the school year and even now during these difficult times. He sends via Google classroom his students a message about how he enjoyed having them in his class and that they are welcome to reach out to him through Google classroom and stop by to see him during next school year.
- Mrs. McGrath is my daughter Mabel's teacher this year, and she is just incredible. Mabel has grown so much in her class not only because she is a gifted academic instructor, but also because she has created such a loving and mutually supportive community in her classroom…Since the closing of schools, Mrs. McGrath has sent daily, sometimes twice daily, resources, notes for students, created videos with stories and prompts for journal writing, checked in with parents about how we're feeling, and held daily Zoom classroom meetings. During these "meetings", the kids talk about how they're feeling, show connections between each other, talk about their worries, and then she does a lesson where the students are absolutely engaged and wanting to answer questions. It's absolutely beautiful.
- I would like to take the time out to show my appreciation to Mrs. Marunde, who is my daughter’s 2nd grade teacher at PHSSA. She has gone above and beyond when it comes to her students. She is always listening to answer questions, she is actively still involved even with the crisis we have going on right now so that her kids may feel so sort of normalcy…Mrs Marunde, is a spectacular teacher and I'm sure plenty parents can agree when I say she is truly dedicated to what she does.
- This morning, two of my K teachers set up a drive-by work-pack pick-up. Mary Bennett and Paula Katz. They also gave out books and glue sticks!
- Today we started Zoom meetings for PHSSA! I think it’s amazing that Ms. Starke and Mrs. Durham have went above and beyond to make learning and safe social interaction a possibility!! My children were so excited to see their classmates and teachers during such a scary time for everyone! It brought such a smile to my face to see teachers, students, and parents find a way to put learning and each other first! We miss our PHSSA family! We appreciate the time and dedication the teachers are putting forth right now!!
- I would like to shout out one of the best teachers that Southampton Elementary School has. Mrs. Charisse Williams is THE best special Education teacher that I’ve ever met. She is sincere in all that she does. She goes above and beyond to make sure her students are still learning from home and striving to do their best. Mrs. Williams is exceptional and I appreciate her dearly.
- Shout out to Mr. Simone at Richmond Community High School. He has not missed a beat. He is in touch with his students daily, has scheduled meeting times per class period and has provided links for them to gather virtually as a class. Mr. Simone does this throughout the year, he is always engaging his students. They are to record a video of how it has been for them since being home and make a Flipagram. Thank you Mr. Simone You Rock!!!!
- I'd like to "shout-out" our sincere appreciation to Ms. Gill from Mary Munford Elementary. She sends her students daily "fireside chats" (FDR-style), ensuring them all will be ok and they're in it together! She congratulates students who are achieving various milestones on the virtual teaching platforms, and she offers daily explanations of the work she asks them to complete. I know there are a lot of rockstar teachers out there who have flipped their worlds upside down to accommodate our children, and I'm grateful Ms. Gill is one of them.
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Food – Please note that we have added 10 more drop-off sites for food (shaded in light blue in the flyers below).
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Local Coronavirus Hotline – See below for information about a new hotline from the Richmond City and Henrico County Health Departments. Let me take this opportunity to express my profound appreciation to Dr. Danny Avula, along with all the dedicated public heatlth personnel on his team, who are working around the clock to protect our community. We are all in your debt.
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Learning at Home – As a reminder, you don't need to figure this out on your own. We have a TON of resources on our website. Big thanks to the entire academic team for pulling everything together so quickly. Check it out here!
"Mr. K's 30 Minutes of Math!"– Check out my math lessons at 2 pm every weekday. All you have to do is click here! By the way, I just got an Apple Pencil, which has made things MUCH better. For past lessons, click here. Thanks!
Wishtree Read-Aloud – Our celebrity reader for Chapters 12-15 is Senator Jennifer McClellan! Thank you so much, Senator, for making time to do this! To all our students/families: If you'd like to go back and watch Chapters 1-11, just click here.
With great appreciation,
Jason
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Note: Newly added questions are in red.
Closure
- How long are we closed? For the remainder of the school year.
- Will we need to go to school in the summer, and will next school year start early or end late? Possibly. We're exploring these options now and we'll be seeking your feedback very soon.
- Are events run by external organizations that rent space at schools (like churches for Sunday services) cancelled? Yes. ALL activities are cancelled.
Food
- Which schools have food available for pick-up? Southside: Boushall MS, Broad Rock ES, George Wythe HS, Miles Jones ES, Reid ES; East End: Armstrong HS, MLK MS; Northside: Ginter Park ES; West End: Binford MS, Carver ES
- Is RPS also delivering food directly into neighborhoods? Yes! We are using our buses to deliver food to 34 locations around the city. Click here for all the details.
- Can students pick up food without their parent/caregiver being present? Yes.
- Can parents/caregivers pick up food without their student being present? Yes.
- If I want to help in some way, what should I do? Please fill out this Google Form so we can follow up with you. Thank you!
Academics – Online Learning
- Where do I find the "Learning at Home" section of the RPS website? Just click here.
- What should I do if I don't have internet access? Please call Comcast at 855-846-8376 (English) or 855-765-6995 (Spanish) to get 60 days of FREE internet.
- What should I do if the Comcast option isn't working for me? We are working to get wifi "hotspots" for families that can't access the internet. I'll have more information on this soon.
- What should I if I don't have a computer for my students? We are doing two things to provide support: 1) we're going to send home the computers we have at schools; and 2) we're going to purchase about 10,000 additional computers for students who need them. I'll have more information on this soon.
Academics – Graduation
- Will current high school seniors who were on track to graduate when we closed still get their diplomas this year? Yes! The Virginia Department of Education has just clarified that these students WILL graduate this year.
- What about graduation ceremonies? Prom? Unfortunately, we will not be able to hold these events when they were scheduled. That said, we're exploring rescheduling them for the summer or fall, as we know how important they are to our students and families.
Academics – Other
- Will students be held back a year becuase of the closure? No. But we may need to start next school year early and/or end late.
- How will grades be calculated for the 3rd marking period? We're looking at a number of options, which we'll share soon for feedback.
- Will students need to take SOLs? No.
- Where do I go to find all the Wishtree read-aloud videos? Right here!
Communications
- What is the RPS website address? www.rvaschools.net
- Can anyone receive my daily RPS Direct emails? Yes. ANYONE can sign up here.
- Are these messages available in other languages? Yes. They're all posted on our website, which has an auto-translate function for dozens of languages. The translate button is on the top right of the menu bar.
- Does RPS have any guidance on how to talk about the coronavirus with children? Yes. Please click here for a number of resources.
Other
- If I want to volunteer, what should I do? Please sign-up here. Thank you!
- If I want to donate, what should I do? Click here to go to the donation page of the Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation. Thank you!
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Note: Newly added questions are in red.
Pay
- Who will be paid during the closure? ALL RPS employees will continue to be paid during the entirety of the closure. That includes full-time, part-time, and hourly employees.
- Are long-term subs included? Yes!
- What about contracted personnel, like 1:1 aides? We are working to make sure these individuals get paid as well. It's just a little tricker since they're not RPS employees. I should have more information on this soon.
Other Matters
- Will we have a Transfer Fair on March 31 as scheduled? No. We are working on a virtual solution to help teachers and other staff pursue transfers for next year. As soon as we have the details worked out, I'll share them in my RPS Direct.
- What should I do if I need to renew my license? Though we are technically closed, you can still send in your licensure renewal paperwork to Deborah Dailey, our Licensure Specialist. Use this address: Talent Office – 15th Floor, Attention Deborah Dailey, 301 N. 9th Street, Richmond, VA 23219. You can also email Deborah at ddailey@rvaschools.net.
- What should I do if I have a question about my benefits? Please call 804-780-7859. And if you have any other concerns, please reach out to me directly at jkamras@rvaschools.net. I want to make sure you have all the information and support you need during this difficult time!
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